EU Postpones Albania and Macedonia Talks to June 2019

TIRANA, June 27

Accession talks with Albania and Macedonia were postponed for July 2019 if the two countries carry out more reforms against corruption and organized crime. The European Union (EU) governments agreed on Tuesday to “set out the path towards accession negotiations in June 2019”, for Albania and Macedonia, according to the formal conclusions.
It took ten hours of debate to reach this decision by the EU affairs ministers as France, the Netherlands, and Denmark opposition.
Bulgaria’s foreign minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, whose country ends its EU presidency this month, said it was not easy to reach an agreement.
“But it is a good decision because it gives a clear timeframe to the two countries. And it is better than to have nothing,” euobserver.com quoted her as saying on the 2019 dateline.

During a visit to the Western Balkan countries, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that all potential members countries need to conduct major reforms in the justice and political systems, to fight corruption, to stimulate their economies and to solve any conflict with neighbors.

News Source: euobserver.com